Ubuntu Linux

Offered Winter Study 2008:

Instructors: Jing Cao'08 and Jerry He'08

Are you interested in experimenting with an operating system other than Windows and OSX? Try Ubuntu Linux. It gets the good from Windows and OSX and leaves out the bad. Like them, Ubuntu is elegant and easy to use. Any windows / OSX user can learn the Ubuntu interface immediately. Unlike them, Ubuntu is both free of viruses and free of charge. If you want to have Ubuntu on your computer, come and join us this winter study. In a few meetings, we will help you set up Ubuntu on your computer, explore the amazing features it has to offer, and introduce the support community on the web in case you need assistance in the future.

We are planning on three meetings, once a week.

Class 1: Introduction

       - Ubuntu installation
       - Connecting to the internet (wired, wireless)
       - A tour of the applications that Ubuntu provides

Come to one of the two meetings at Jesup 205: Tuesday Jan 8th at 8PM or Thursday 10th at 8PM

Class 2: Applications

       - Customizing the Ubuntu desktop
       - Playing multimedia files
       - Setting up Thunderbird for webmail
       - Installing applications with synaptic

Class 3: Terminal

       - Introduction of the terminal
       - A few commands (ls, cd, mv, find, grep, cp, scp, sudo, less, emacs)
       - Ubuntu's directory structure

The following meetings are optional.

Class 4: Further Instructions on the Terminal

       - Exercise: Installing applications with apt-get
       - Exercise: Installing applications by downloading and compiling source code

Class 5: The Ubuntu Community

       - Googling for answers
       - Posting your question on the Ubuntu forum
       - Getting rid of Ubuntu

Interested students please contact Jing Cao (08jwc_2) or Xiang He (08xjh) upon returning for winter study. No prior knowledge in computer science or programming is required. In installing Ubuntu, you can retain your original operating system by setting up a dual-boot option, so don't worry about losing what you already have. Laptops and desktops are equally welcome.